Team Building
by Spademyheart
Summary: Au lizzington fluff where Lizzie isn't pregnant and Beans, AKA Tom, isn't in the picture. Red feels the dynamic between he and Lizzie is strained so he takes steps to improve it.


Lizzie was laying on the floor in her new apartment staring at the ceiling. Picking a new paint color that reflected this new part of her journey was proving difficult. She wanted it to be something completely her own, no outside influence. She had returned the couch that Red had bought for her. It was a thoughtful gift, but she wanted this space to be completely hers; a safety zone of sorts.

The ringing of her phone was jarring in the quiet space. She let it ring a few times before reluctantly heaving herself off the floor to retrieve it from the counter. Seeing Nick's Pizza on the screen she almost didn't answer, but knew he would only call again or come over. She eschewed a greeting, opting instead to get right to the point before he could launch into one of his stories. "Surely whatever case you have can wait until tomorrow."

"Good evening to you too Lizzie, but you seem to have jumped to the wrong conclusion. I was calling to see if you would do me the honor of having brunch with me this morning."

She was hungry, but did she really want to spend the morning being close to him? She was feeling crowded and needed some space. He would feed her well though and she really hadn't eaten much in the last couple of days. Resigned, she blew a puff of air into the phone before accepting his invite. "Yeah, brunch sounds good."

There was a beat of silence on the other end. She smiled to herself knowing she had thrown him off his beat. He probably had a myriad of arguments at the ready as to why she needed to take better care of herself. He replied with his usual self assurance though. "Splendid! I'll be there in thirty minutes to pick you up."

Red led her through the restaurant and into the kitchen. There was a small cushioned bench against the far wall with a table set for two in front of it. "This is the best seat in the house, all the magic happens in here." He gestured for her to take a seat before sitting beside her. " I thought you might like to watch."

She had to admit this was wonderful. She had never been in the back of a professional kitchen before; well if you didn't count running through one while chasing a suspect. There was so much going on, but it was choreographed so well that it was like a dance. While keeping her eyes on the staff, she half turned to Red with a brilliant smile she couldn't contain. "This is amazing, thank you."

He stared at her for a moment in utter awe. He knew she would enjoy this but he never expected this reaction. When her smile started to slip because he had been silent for too long, he lightly brushed her hair behind her ear and breathed out, "You're welcome, Lizzie."

Brunch was pleasant. She talked to him about having a hard time picking out a paint color and to her surprise he didn't launch into a story about a stunningly beautiful designer he knew who could come and help her out.

All too soon the meal was at an end and for the first time in a while she was reluctant to leave his company. He hadn't flirted shamelessly with her at all, but had been perfectly affable.

He placed his hand over hers when she moved to get up. "Before we leave Lizzie, I was wondering if you would accompany me somewhere. There is something I'd like to show you."

She was unsure if she should go or not, while he had been a perfect gentlemen at dinner, going to his house may not be a good idea. She turned to him to refuse his offer, but he looked so hopeful and she knew he had felt the shift in their relationship, it was hard on her too. "Alright, but I want to go shopping and get started on the apartment today."

"Of course." He led her out, stopping to address the chef. "Thank you, Francis, it was absolutely fantastic as usual."

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Once inside the warehouse, he asked her to close her eyes and led her past the cubicle wall that had been placed just inside the door. "I have felt that our… partnership was a bit strained so I thought a team building exercise would help."

She was stunned when she opened her eyes, the area had been completely turned into an obstacle course of sorts. Paper targets and orange plastic safety cones with a few 'walls' had been strategically placed. Standing on the other side of the room were Dembe and Baz holding large nerf guns with smaller ones strapped to their legs and chest and a ton of 'ammo' slung over their shoulders. She turned to see Red outfitting himself in similar fashion.

He waggled his eyebrows at her, confident in his abilities. "You up for it Lizzie?"

How could she pass up the chance to shoot him. She laughed and rushed over to grab her gear. "You asked for it."

"This is team building, Lizzie, we aren't here to have an all out war with each other." He grinned cheekily at her, knowing exactly what she had been thinking.

Baz led them into a small office which had been turned into a situation room. There was a map of the warehouse and a board with mission points and directive pinned to it. Thier goal was to save the damsel in distress on the second floor.

Red was team leader, because of course he was. She would follow with Dembe and Baz taking up the rear. "Follow me", he glanced back at Lizzie before adding "and try to keep up."

She glared at his backside, which she had to admit look very nice indeed. They proceeded slowly clearing each room as they went. Paper targets would pop out from time to time for them to take out. But it was going too slowly for her tastes.

She tried to step around him and move to a different room but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to his side. "Lizzie, I know this must be very difficult for you, but we can't both lead."

Memories of the dance at the Syrian embassy flashed through her head. She rolled her eyes at him and made a grand gesture for him to proceed her.

When they finally reached the top floor and she saw the 'damsel in distress' she let out a bark of horrified laughter. "Our damsel is a half deflated sex doll?"

"It was either her or Mr. Kaplan's cpr training dummy and I thought this girl might be more fun."

She could not believe what she was hearing. He was an idiot, adorable but an idiot. She didn't even stop to think before she raised her gun and took the first shot, the dart hit him square in the forehead. His smile left his face as he checked his gun for ammo. "Men have died for less than that, Lizzie."

She squealed and dove for cover, his foam bullet missing her by just a fraction. Dembe and Baz immediately dove for cover and the war on Red began. Foam bullets were flying through the air at rapid speeds. Red was quicker than she would have thought, he danced through the course getting shot fewer times than she would have expected and hitting his marks with deadly accuracy.

When she finally ran out of bullets and called for a ceasefire, she was laughing so hard her ribs hurt. "Uncle!"

Red vaulted over an overturned table and reached out a hand to help her up. "You did well, Lizzie, I'm proud of you."

She felt a little embarrassed for how she had been treating him lately, she had been feeling smothered. If she had just told him it would probably had been easier on them both but hindsight is 20/20. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch lately. After being on the run and everything else that happened, I just needed some space. I guess I should have said something rather than just push you away."

He looked over at Baz and Dembe and they immediately got up and left the room. "You can always come to me with anything, Lizzie, and I will do my best to give you what you need."

"Why?"

He turned and began taking off his gun belts and ammo. "Why what, Lizzie?"

"Please can we not do that. Just for once give me a straight answer." She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration.

He looked down, chewing on his cheek a moment before he locked gazes with her and decided to throw caution to the wind. "I love you, Lizzie, and you can take that any way you like. I will be whatever you need me to be. But please don't leave me, I don't think I could survive."

She stood frozen in place for a moment not knowing how to take what he said, but really it didn't matter only he mattered in this moment. He would give her what she needed and for the first time in a very long time she knew she needed him. She launched herself at his chest and threw her arms around his neck. He wasted no time in hugging her back.

They stayed that way for a long moment before she turned her head and whispered in his ear. "I think I love you too."

 _Fin_


End file.
